Life wasn't always easy for this soap opera icon

Charlene Tilton became a worldwide star playing "Lucy"inDallas. However, after she left the show in 1990 she didn't always have it easy. Carry on reading to find out what the lovely actress is doing now.

Charlene Tilton (59) found fame playing "Lucy Ewing", "Jock" and "Miss Ellie's" granddaughter in Dallas. She played the young, attractive and easily manipulated "Lucy" for eleven whole years.

How Charlene Tilton came to star in Dallas

The fifty-nine-year-old discovered she had a passion for acting when she was a child. Her big breakthrough was her role in Dallas. She confessed in an interview with Oprah that she was able to identify with "Lucy" immediately upon reading the script.

Her dream to become an actress therefore became a reality when she was just seventeen. Hollywood opened its doors and Charlene was admitted into a world of glamour and glitz, and the chance to star in one of the most well-known soap operas ever. She said, "I didn't want to stand behind the gates, but wanted to be inside the studio".

The death of her fiancée had a devastating impact

Tilton's first marriage to country singer Johnny Lee only lasted two years. They had one daughter, Cherish Lee. One year later, she married actor Domenick Allen, but they filed for divorce seven years later.

She later got engaged to cameraman Cheddy Hart. In 2009 she suffered a terrible blow when he died suddenly at just fifty-four. She told Oprah that he had been her one true love.

Charlene was devastated by his death and her grief and desperation drove her to alcoholism. Charlene has talked about that time in various interviews, saying that she was deeply depressed and did not leave her house for months.

A new start for Charlene Tilton

Charlene managed to come to terms with her grief and now lives a normal life and appeared on the TV showDancing on Ice in 2012.

She once again played "Lucy" in the Dallas revival from 2012 to 2014. She is also an active volunteer at the Actor for Autism school for autistic children and adults and teaches acting there. She worked as a producer on three films in 2017 including the film Road Less Travelled.